The emperor had made his judgment, and his confidence in overcoming the disaster was even stronger, but he also did not take it lightly or slack off.

Stabilizing people's hearts in disaster-stricken areas is the top priority. Just like in later generations, the government often issues reassurances such as "There are sufficient reserves of certain materials, and citizens do not need to panic or rush to stockpile."

In today's society where information is transmitted slowly and the people have a low level of education, grassroots officials need to do more work to ensure the safety of the people.

Throughout history, whenever there are major disasters or chaos, there are always people with ulterior motives who spread rumors and cause chaos among the people.

In this regard, the emperor has ordered the East Factory, the Inspectorate and local governments to pay attention to it and to investigate and punish severely if any signs are found.

Although a large number of ruffians and scoundrels had their entire families exiled during the crackdown, there will always be troublemakers and bad people will never disappear.

How could the emperor not know that he was "overcorrecting", but it was obviously more important to use the power of the feudal emperor to stabilize the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible.

As for existing laws, the emperor tried his best not to trample on them. The emperor was supreme, his words became law, and his words determined life and death, which was also his prerogative.

It's all for the country and the people. Whenever the emperor thought of this, he would use this excuse to comfort himself.

When the emperor saw that the Ming Dynasty was truly thriving and that the people in the disaster could still have food to eat, he felt that everything was worth it.

Lifting the curtain of the car window, the emperor looked at the shops lining the street with colorful lights and smiled slightly.

Qianqiu Festival, my birthday. The standard was higher than in previous years, so it was not considered extravagant, as the money was still taken from the treasury.

Many businesses decorated their stalls at their own expense. Just like later generations, holidays were a time of booming business. They seized the opportunity to promote sales and make a lot of money, so the cost of colorful silk and lanterns was nothing.

Counting on my fingers, compared with later generations, the Ming Dynasty had too few legal holidays.

The emperor thought about it and felt that it was necessary to add a few more, such as traditional festivals such as Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, so that officials and people could relax and stimulate the economy.

Well, many shops have glass windows, and many colored lights are made of glass. This is a change.

Seeing the big picture from the small details, the emperor also noticed the cleanliness of the streets and the placement of trash cans, and smiled with satisfaction.

When the carriage passed through the Meridian Gate, the emperor saw the stage being built.

The emperor paid for song and dance troupes and opera troupes, built three stages, and invited the common people to enjoy the performances free of charge. There were also small opera troupes hired by merchants in the capital, who performed for free as a promotional measure.

A peaceful and prosperous era?!

The emperor did not think so, but for the common people, it was indeed the most reassuring thing.

"Your Majesty..." The carriage stopped, Wang Tigan opened the door politely and stretched out his arm.

The emperor nodded, helped himself, got off the carriage, and arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

The roads within the palace were renovated and could accommodate carriages, but the emperor really didn't like riding in a sedan chair or a palanquin.

After the new carriage was introduced, the emperor rewarded several important officials and criticized the tradition of "civil officials riding in sedan chairs" in newspapers.

What the superiors like, the subordinates will definitely follow.

Since the emperor didn't like it, then he shouldn't ride it. Comfort was a minor concern, promotion was a major one. Thus, carriages became the preferred mode of transportation for officials. If they couldn't afford one, they could ride horses, which wasn't shameful.

The key point is that weak scholars and officials who can't lift or carry anything have always been disliked by the emperor. There is no need to let such a small matter cause resentment in the emperor's heart and affect his future promotion.

"Your Majesty." Old Wei, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward and knelt down to kowtow. "Your Majesty, your servant greets you."

The emperor nodded and said gently, "Get up!"

After Old Wei finished kowtowing, he stood up and followed the emperor into the hall.

The emperor sat down on the throne and waved his hand for the palace servants to move a seat for Old Wei. Although it was not uncommon, Old Wei's sincere and grateful expression every time made the emperor feel comfortable.

After Old Wei presented the report documents, he carefully sat down on the embroidered cushion, without even half of his butt touching the ground. Even the emperor admired his ability to sit steadily.

The emperor flipped through it briefly, put the document on the desk, lowered his eyes and fell into deep thought.

Many dynasties in history had multiple capitals, such as Haojing and Luoyi in the Western Zhou Dynasty; Luoyang and Chang'an (Xijing for ancestor worship) in the Eastern Han Dynasty; Chang'an (Daxingcheng) and Dongdu (Luoyang) in the Sui Dynasty, and so on.

The Ming Dynasty had Beijing (Beiping Prefecture), Nanjing (Yingtian Prefecture), and Zhongdu (Fengyang), but these were not the first of their kind and were nothing special.

While the secondary capitals of other dynasties were mostly symbolic or used for ancestor worship, Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty had a complete set of central administrative institutions.

Moreover, Nanjing was an idle government office, usually a place where officials who failed in party struggles or were marginalized were exiled. It usually only managed the affairs of the southern Zhili province.

As a result, the officials in the capital were very busy with work, while the officials in the six ministries in Nanjing were either drinking tea or skipping work.

It was this situation that made the emperor question whether Nanjing's administrative agencies were necessary and whether those leisurely officials with white-collar salaries should be laid off.

The emperor did not reveal this idea immediately, but instead asked the East Factory to conduct a secret investigation and obtain detailed information.

Because the abolition of the two capitals and one capital system involved the ancestral system, the emperor had to be relatively cautious.

Nanjing was the capital established by Taizu, and it was inconvenient to abolish it; Beijing was where Chengzu moved the capital to strengthen military constraints in the north; and the ancestral mausoleum was in Fengyang, and there was a need for sacrifices.

Of course, Fang Zhenghua, the eunuch appointed by the emperor to guard Nanjing, was in charge of the newly trained Nanjing garrison troops. As long as the imperial edict was issued, no one dared to cause trouble, and no one could cause trouble.

However, the emperor felt that if the problem could be solved steadily, there was no need to be too rough and forceful.

It would not be a good idea to lay off all the officials in Nanjing who have retired to the second line and are waiting to retire. We must give them a chance to see if they can be used.

The title of secondary capital can be retained, and it can be used for sacrifices and other things. This should reduce resistance and criticism.

The emperor made up his mind and decided to hand the matter over to the cabinet and the six ministries. There was no need for backstabbing; a performance review and a merger of agencies would almost solve the problem.

"Wei Ban, you did a great job." The emperor finished his thought and smiled. "Fang Zhenghua is also good. They both deserve a reward."

Old Wei quickly bowed humbly and said, "I am humbled by the emperor's praise for my humble service."

The emperor smiled and nodded, expressing his admiration. He slowly said, "The East Factory has developed very well. Its spies are densely spread out, which makes me sharp-eyed and aware of the situation in all places. I am able to understand it and avoid being deceived. This is also the credit of Wei Ban."

He raised his hand to stop Lao Wei from being humble, and the emperor's face became serious. Lao Wei knew what was going on, so he quickly stood up and waited for instructions.

……………….